Investment News

BIDA and Standard Chartered to work together to attract FDI

Jan 05, 2021

BIDA has formed a partnership with the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) as part of its ongoing efforts to attract high-value foreign investments.

The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during an official ceremony held at BIDA’s head office in Agargaon on Jan 5, 2021.

Bangladesh's vision to become a middle income country by 2024 and a developed one by 2041 largely depends on foreign investments, said BIDA Executive Chairman Md. Sirazul Islam. "I believe that our partnership will play a significant role in drawing more foreign investments."

The partnership is expected to leverage the SCB's networks at home and abroad to target high value, hi-technology and high impact investments covering key priority sectors including agriculture, ICT, electronics, light engineering, renewable energy, power and health care.

"Collaboration between the public and the private sector is now more important because we want to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and take advantage of the opportunities of the new normal," said the BIDA chief.

The changes across the globe caused by the pandemic highlight the importance of building resilience through diversification, said SCB CEO Naser Ezaz Bijoy. "With companies looking to invest in diverse markets to build resilience and leverage available resources and prospects, we have a unique window of opportunity to expand our FDI pool," he said.

Dr. Abdul Hamid, BIDA Secretary, and Enamul Huque, Managing Director and Head of Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking client coverage for Bangladesh, SCB, signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides.